Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Shows Tremendous Character With Response to Loaded Question
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Auston Matthews was asked about the possibility of breaking the new goal-scoring record set by Alexander Ovechkin, and his response was incredible humble.
Leafs Captain Auston Matthews was one of the first to congratulate the 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin on Sunday after he broke Wayne Gretzky's 31-year-old record of 894 career NHL goals.
On Monday, as the Leafs prepared to travel to Florida, Matthews was asked about the potential of him breaking Ovechkin's brand new record. Unsurprisingly, he humbly declined to forecast his future chances of breaking his record, giving Ovechkin all of his respect.
"Yeah, I mean, that's such a long ways away. I don't think I should even be in that conversation. This guy just broke the record," Matthews said. "I'm so far away from that, and I think it shouldn't really be a focus on myself. It rightfully so should be on Ovi and what he's been able to accomplish in his career, and this record being one of them."
For Matthews, the first priority in record-breaking is to stay healthy, but since returning to the lineup after the 4-Nations Face-Off, he has looked like his old self.
While Matthews didn't want to include himself in the goal-scoring conversation, his sophomore linemate Matthew Knies was far more insistent that the Arizona native could one day break the record.
"Maybe we'll see it... 34 could do it."
For the stat gurus out there, Matthews has recorded 7 more goals than Ovechkin did in his first 623 games, meaning he is on pace to flirt with the record - depending how much longer the Russian superstar plays and adds to his 895 goals.
As mentioned, though, Matthews will need to stay healthy if he wants to come within striking distance of Ovi's record and would have to find the back of the net more than 500 more times to even enter the conversation.
For now, though, the Leafs' Captain is focused on staying healthy heading into the playoffs and guiding the Leafs on a long playoff run.
Previously on Maple Leafs Daily
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 7 | 2727 ANSWERS Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Shows Tremendous Character With Response to Loaded Question Do you think Auston Matthews will break Ovechkin's record one day? | ||
| Yes | 705 | 25.9 % |
| No | 1257 | 46.1 % |
| If he stays healthy he has a shot | 765 | 28.1 % |
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